


Reapers and Red Velvet

by UntilNeverDawns



Category: Sons of Anarchy
Genre: F/M, Juice Ortiz deserved better, best friend Juice, bring tissues this gets sad, father figure Tig, new girl in town
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-16
Updated: 2018-12-09
Packaged: 2019-02-15 08:09:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13026852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UntilNeverDawns/pseuds/UntilNeverDawns
Summary: Maggie Leighton never expected that opening a bakery in Charming, California would get her involved with an outlaw motorcycle club. Of course, the way to a man's heart is through his stomach.





	1. Part 1

Opening day of The Bold Note was a roaring success. The little coffee shop and bakery had appeared on Charming’s Main Street a month before, and it was finally ready to open. The owner, a brunette young woman with a bright, friendly, smile, was scrambling to take care of everything. Despite the chaos, she was handling things very well.

Maggie sagged against the counter when the rush dispersed. She was thrilled with how well the small California town had accepted her little place. She headed to the back to make sure that there was nothing in the ovens, reemerging when she heard the bell above the door ring. She stepped up to the counter, seeing two men in leather vests, one who smelled distinctly of pot.. He had tribal tattoos on either side of his Mohawk, and was practically salivating on her display case.

“Munchies?” She asked the second man, who seemed to be babysitting the incredibly high man. He nodded. “I have just the thing.”

Chibs watched as the girl pulled a ceramic plate from under the counter, placing an assortment of the baked goods onto the the dish. He glanced over at Juice, who was looking at the woman as if she was made of pure starlight.

“And there you go,” she said proudly. “There’s a little bit of everything. Can I get you a coffee?” The last part was directed at Chibs, giving the Scot a bright, genuine smile.

“Sure,” he replied. “Black.”

She smiled and went over to the coffee pot, pouring the steaming beverage into a large gray mug.

“How much do we owe ya, lass?” Chibs asked, taking the mug from her.

“Nothing,” she said with a small shake of her head. “It’s on the house.”

The two Sons sat down at one of the tables, Juice digging into the various baked things on the plate.

“This shit is amazing!” Juice exclaimed, half of the plate already gone. “We have to tell Bobby! She bakes better than he does!”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” she said, bringing by the coffee pot to refill Chibs’ mug, a slight blush coloring her porcelain cheeks. “If you guys need anything, just holler. I have to go check on a couple things in the back.”

The two Sons looked at each other. This girl was definitely not from Charming.

Chibs finished off his coffee. “We’ll actually be heading out now, miss--?”

“Maggie,” she replied, pulling a business card out of the pocket of her half-apron. “Here, if you guys ever need a special order or something, just give me a call.”

Chibs looked at the card. It had the colors of a sunset mixed together like watercolors with _The Bold Note_ in dark gray script across the middle. _M.C. Leighton, owner_ was underneath in smaller letters, as well as a telephone number.

“Thanks, lass,” Chibs said, also giving the woman a friendly smile. Juice, who was still fairly high, pulled the young woman into a hug.

“I think I love you,” the Puerto Rican said.

Maggie smiled and extricated herself. “Let me know how you feel about that when you’re sober.”

She waved as the men headed out of the shop, climbing onto their motorcycles.

A few days after her experience with the two men, Maggie received a visitor. The older woman walked into the shop with an air of authority. Everyone else in the shop seemed to hush as the woman’s heeled boots approached the counter.

“You Maggie?” She asked.

“Yes ma’am,” she replied. “How may I help you?”

Gemma took a minute to observe the young woman. She had wavy brown hair that brushed the tops of her shoulders. She looked like she was in her mid-twenties, with a pretty face. She definitely didn’t look like the type to want to get involved with outlaw bikers.

“I’m Gemma, my husband and I own the mechanic shop a couple blocks over. The Taste of Charming is coming up, it’s a fundraiser for the schools. I wanted to see if you’d be interested in helping out.”

Maggie’s answer was almost immediate. “Absolutely! What did you have in mind?”

 

XXXXXXXXX

 

Maggie couldn’t help the grin on her face. Not far from her booth, containing both pre-decorated and decorate-your-own cookies, a group of kids were messing around with an older guy dressed as Elvis. He looked like he was attempting to man the face-painting station, but he seemed more than a bit lost.

“Trade ya,” Maggie said, offering him a smile.

“Oh, that’s alright,” he tried to protest.

“Trust me,” Maggie said with a conspiratorial wink. “ I feel like those cookies might need a bit of help from the King.”

Bobby smiled gratefully. He headed over to where the young woman had gestured and looked around. Piping bags full of icing and plastic decorating tools were spread out on a table next to her kiosk, while the table facing the main area had the cookies the young woman had already decorated. He swiped one of the non-decorated sugar cookies and bit into it. His eyes widened in appreciation. This girl, whoever she was, knew how to bake.

As the event was winding down, Gemma surveyed her domain. They had raised a pretty good amount of money for the school, despite the club having to deal with the Kyle situation. She looked over, seeing Juice, Tig, and Half-Sack lurking around Maggie’s kiosk.

“Waiting for scraps?” She asked, amusement coloring her tone.

Tig shook his head and gestured for the matriarch to be quiet. She was about to object before she heard the sound too.

“ _Maybe I think you’re cute and funny, maybe I wanna do what bunnies do with you, if you know what I mean. Oh let’s get rich and build our parents homes in the south of France, let’s get rich and give every body nice sweaters and teach them how to dance-”_

The new kid in town was a great baker, and could sing? She was definitely an enigma.


	2. PART II

Maggie groaned as she hit the snooze button on her phone alarm. She was proud of her business, but there were some days that 4:30AM was just not working for her. She rolled out of bed and went into her bathroom, turning on music to try and wake herself up. She emerged fresh-faced, her dark hair braided back tightly. She threw on jeans and a sweatshirt, grabbing a nicer shirt to change into later, and headed down to her car.

She got the day’s offerings out of the ovens and into the display case as the sun began streaming through the windows. She went into the back office, ditching her sweatshirt in favor of a burgundy button-down. As soon as 7:30 rolled around, she unlocked the door and began another day.

“Good morning, Mrs. Oswald,” she said brightly as Karen and her daughter Tristan came into the shop.

“Morning Maggie,” Karen replied. “Can we get a couple of those cinnamon scones?”

“Of course! Anything else?”

The two Oswald women were given their scones and went to sit at one of the charmingly mismatched tables.

As the morning got later, the patrons went about their business, leaving Maggie in an empty shop.

There was only a brief respite before the sound of a motorcycle broke the quiet. Maggie smiled, having a theory that her next customer might be a certain biker who had a fondness for her baked goods.

“So, where are you from?” Juice asked, nomming on yet another apple fritter. He, like some of the other Sons, had started coming by The Note on his way to T-M. First, it was to assuage his munchies, but now it was more to spend time with Maggie.

“I lived in Corona before I moved here,” she said, moving to refill her mug of hot tea. “But I was born and raised in the Midwest.”

“That makes so much sense! You and your little accent,” the Puerto Rican teased.

“I do not have an accent!” she retorted, even though a tiny portion of her brain grudgingly acknowledged that she used ‘y’all’ more frequently than the Californians. “You’re distracting from the question!”

“Queens,” he replied.

“Wow, definitely did not expect that one.”

“What’s Maggie short for?”

“Magnolia,” she said, making a face. “Magnolia Clarisse. What about you, New Yorker? I highly doubt your mom named you Juice.”

“Juan Carlos,” he replied. They both looked at each other and laughed. Juice looked around. Despite it being mid-morning, the shop was empty except for the two of them. “Is it usually this slow?”

Maggie shrugged. “It’s slowed down a bit since opening. I suppose the newness has worn off.” She wasn’t about to tell Juice, or any of the Sons, this, but business had slowed to a trickle.

“Was that before or after we started coming around?” Juice asked.

“Shit! I left the cinnamon scones in the oven!” Maggie said, jumping up and running back towards the kitchen. She was effectively avoiding his question, which gave him all the answer he needed.

 

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

 

“The Bold Note, this is Maggie, how can I help you?” she chirped into the store phone.

“Maggie lass, it’s Chibs.”

“Chibs, hi! What’s going on?”

“Well, we’re needing you to bake up some of your muffins and whatnot and bring them by the shop, if that’s possible?”

She smiled. “Of course! What kinds do you want, and how many?” She grabbed a notepad and started scribbling down the Sons’ order. “Sweet. I’ll bring them by tomorrow afternoon.”

“What do we have on her?” Jax asked; they were finally getting around to running a background check on the young woman.

“Magnolia Clarisse Leighton,” Juice began reading. “Twenty-four. Born in Normal, Illinois. Graduated summa cum laude from Missouri State at twenty--damn, the girl’s a genius!--then moved to Corona, California to attend Music For The World, which is a performance school. Parents Jasper and Maureen Leighton---” Juice paused. “Shit. Both deceased. They died when she was 18…”

“The word you want is murdered,” a voice said from beside them. The Sons hadn’t noticed Maggie come in carrying the bakery boxes containing the order Chibs had called in the day before. “They were murdered when I was eighteen.” She placed the boxes on the bar. “I would have told you all of this if you had asked.” She looked at Juice, something akin to hurt in her hazel eyes.

“It was just a precaution, Mags,” Juice said. “You understand, right?”

“Yeah,” she said flatly, her face closed off. “I get it. Y’all enjoy.”

Deep down, she did get it. People hadn’t exactly been subtle in saying that the Sons were involved in some bad shit. “A nice girl like you is bound to get hurt getting involved with those criminals” had been a direct quote from one of her now-former customers. She still didn’t like the idea of them just jumping into her business.

Now she just needed to go home and shoot something. Call of Duty was a wonderful outlet for her anger. Her moment of anger-tinged Zen was interrupted by insistent knocking on her door. She practically ripped the headset off and stalked to the door.

“This had better be good,” she said, not really paying attention to the person on the other side of the door.

Juice stood there, holding boxes of Chinese takeout and junk food.

“Need a player 2?” He asked sheepishly, holding up his Xbox controller.

Though she was still kind of mad, he had Chinese food, so she elected to let it slide. “You better have gotten my favorite,” she said, stepping aside so he could come into her place.

“Broccoli beef combo plate, white rice, and an order of crab rangoon,” Juice said, handing her the bag that held her order.

“You may live another day,” she said, pulling him into a hug. “I’m sorry about earlier,” she said into his shoulder. “I overreacted.”

“It’s okay,” he said, squeezing her and then letting go. “The guys told me to tell you that you should start coming to the Friday night parties.”

Maggie thought for a second. She really felt like she should apologize to the Sons for her reaction. “Gimme a few minutes to get ready and we can go. Toss the Chinese in the fridge, we can heat it up later.”

Juice looked at her in shock, but quickly did as she said. Maggie retreated into her bedroom, emerging a few minutes later in a pair of distressed jeans and a loose gray tank top. The straps of her dark purple lace bralette gave it an edgy feel. She finished it up with a ¾ sleeve maroon cardigan, since the nights tended to get cool, even in Cali. She locked up her place and climbed onto the back of Juice’s bike.

The clubhouse was practically shaking from the music blasting. Juice parked his bike and they went inside. Maggie’s eyes widened at the scantily-clad women and the very, _very_ public displays of affection, though she was using that term very loosely.

“C’mon, let’s grab a drink!” Juice yelled close to her ear, trying to be heard over the music. They navigated through the masses of people to get to the bar. Jax was standing next to it, looking very pissed off.

“What’s wrong?” Juice asked.

“We don’t have a fucking bartender is what,” he said, slamming his fist onto the top of the bar.

“Yeah, you do,” she said with an impish grin, vaulting herself over the bar. She inventoried what they had behind the bar. It was definitely workable. “What can I get you, VP?” She asked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to everyone who commented and left kudos! I'm so glad you like the story, and I can't wait to hear what you think of this next chapter!


	3. Part 3

The party was winding down, giving Maggie a chance to step outside for some much-needed fresh air. She sat on top of the picnic table and looked up, taking in the California night sky. In contrast to the chaos inside, this was peaceful...for a moment at least.

“Fuck,” she cursed quietly as her back pocket began to vibrate insistently, letting her know that it was 4:30am, and thus time for her to wake up and get to the shop. She had lost track of Juice hours ago and knew that no one in the clubhouse was sober enough to drive (even if they claimed they were, she knew how much booze they’d had). That left Maggie with one course of action.

Gemma walked in to The Bold Note, intending to pick up breakfast for the boys. Jax had told her about how Maggie had jumped in to help tend bar, so she was even more surprised to see the young woman behind the counter of the shop. Gemma knew how long the SAMCRO parties tended to last.

“Isn’t it a bit early for that?” Gemma asked, gesturing to the can of Red Bull that Maggie had sitting next to the cash register.

“Morning to you too, Gemma,” the young woman said, fighting back a yawn.

Gemma took a second to observe; the young woman’s eyes were fighting to stay open and she was swaying slightly. “Have you slept, baby?”

Maggie shook her head. “Party didn’t wind down until it was time for me to get here and get everything started.”

“How’d you get here?”

Maggie looked at the SAMCRO matriarch sheepishly. “I...walked. All of the guys were either passed out or too drunk to bring me.”

“C’mon,” Gemma said, her tone offering no room for disagreement. “I’m taking you home so you can get some sleep.”

“Gem, there’s no one else to run the shop” she tried to argue. Gemma gave her a look, which caused the sleep-deprived woman to shrink. She glanced around, her morning rush had left and there were just a few things left anyway. She boxed the last bits up, intending to take them over to the Clubhouse and followed Gemma out to her Cadillac.

Maggie did her best to keep her eyes open, but found herself leaning against the car window as they drove toward Maggie’s house. Gemma looked over and saw that Maggie was completely passed out; she decided to take a detour, it was gonna be easier to look after her if she was at Gemma’s house. She pulled into the driveway, calling the clubhouse and getting one of the Sons to come and help her get Maggie inside.

Chibs pulled up, parking his bike and climbing off.

“Can you carry her inside?” Gemma asked. The Scot nodded, gently opening the door of the car, careful to keep Maggie from falling on her face. He got one arm under her knees and one on her upper back and lifted her from the car, her head resting on his shoulder as he carried her inside. Gemma directed him to the guest room and he took her there, being very mindful of door frames and corners.

He set her down on the bed, unlacing her boots and setting them on the floor. He looked down at her sleeping form, so peaceful and vulnerable-looking and he felt a very protective instinct grow inside him. It didn’t feel fatherly, like he had for Kerrianne, this felt more like the protectiveness he had once felt for Fiona.

He shook his head, these feelings were illogical. She was twenty-four for Christ’s sake! He was nearly twenty years her senior! He put the thoughts away, taking the blanket that was folded on top of the bed and covering the sleeping woman, placing a kiss on her forehead.

“Sleep well, lovey,” he whispered.

Gemma was standing in the doorway, having seen the entire exchange. She could almost tell Chibs’ thoughts just by his body language. The Scot definitely had feelings for the younger woman. Considering Gemma’s contempt for “the Irish bitch”, she would give any relationship between the Scot and the little baker her stamp of approval.

The smell of rich foods jarred Maggie from her deep sleep. She blinked several times, unsure of where she was. She reached for her phone, which was sitting on the nightstand. She considered that a good sign, only stupid kidnappers would leave their victims with their cell phones.

The door to the bedroom opened, causing Maggie to jump slightly.

“Sleeping Beauty’s awake,” Gemma said with a smile. “You had us worried there for a little bit.”

“How long have I been asleep?”

Gemma paused to think. “It’s almost four. On the plus side, now you can stay for dinner.”

“Gemma, I don’t want to impose--”

“Nonsense,” the matriarch replied. “There’s more than enough food. C’mon out to the kitchen when you’re ready.”

“Yes ma’am,” Maggie said with a teasing smile. She got up and went over to the bathroom, throwing her hair up in a messy bun on top of her head. She had managed to get her makeup off before opening the shop, so she didn’t have a whole lot to do before she emerged from the guest room.

Maggie found herself seated between Juice and Tig, across the table from Chibs.

“When did you leave last night, Mags?” Juice asked between bites. “We couldn’t find you this morning.”

“That’s ‘cause I was at the shop,” she said, passing the bread basket across the table.

“Aye,” Chibs said. “And Mother had to practically drag ya away to get some rest, love.”

“Funny how that worked out,” Maggie replied, meeting the Scot’s eyes. “Last I remember Gemma and I were driving toward my house.”

Chibs glanced away, suddenly fascinated by his baked potato.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 

Maggie waved as Juice and Chibs rode away from the Note, headed back to T-M with the Club’s coffee and pastry orders.

“The Sons aren’t people you should involve yourself with, Miss Leighton,” Deputy Chief David Hale said, walking up to the counter. “They’re dangerous.”

Maggie shrugged. “They like my baking. I’m not exactly in a position to be turning away patrons, Deputy Chief.”

“It’s just a warning,” the man replied. “People around the Sons always tend to get hurt. I wouldn’t want to see anything bad happen.”

Maggie could hear the slightest tinge of veiled threat in the man’s tone. She needed to step carefully here; David was the younger brother of her landlord, Jacob Hale. “I thank you for your concern.” She handed him the to-go cups of coffee and a small pastry box. “Please tell Chief Unser I say hi.”

Maggie watched him leave and get into his vehicle, quietly cursing herself. She needed to be careful. Jacob Hale was a powerful man, and she had a sinking feeling that mouthing off to his brother had not been one of her brightest moments.


	4. Part 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which a certain evil bitch tries to cause trouble

Maggie took a deep breath as she watched the last of her morning rush head out the door. Business had fallen off a tad bit, but she figured it was just due to the newness wearing off. She still had her regulars, so she really had no complaints; the usually large orders from the Sons also helped quite a bit. 

The bell dinged as a woman in a pantsuit walked into the shop.

“Can I help you? “ Maggie asked personably. 

The woman put on a slightly predatory smile, which made the hairs on the back of Maggie’s neck stand on end. 

“Agent June Stahl, ATF,” she handed Maggie a business card. “I have a few questions for you about the Sons of Anarchy.”

****************************

“She’s putting pressure on the women,” Chibs said from his place at the table. “Gemma, LuAnn, Cherry, Tara.”

“Has anyone heard from Maggie?” Juice asked. Everyone looked around the table. “I mean she’s our bartender, I wouldn’t be surprised if Stahl tried to put the pressure on her too.”

“Will she rat?” Clay asked darkly.

Juice quickly shook his head. “She doesn’t know anything, by her own choice. She wouldn’t rat on us.”

 

“Someone should still try and find her, just to make sure she’s okay,” Tig said. Everyone had a soft spot for Mags, even if she wasn’t involved with any one particular Son. 

Clay pounded the gavel, ending church right as Jax’s phone rang.

“Yeah?” He said, seeing Unser’s number coming up on his screen.

“Stahl has Maggie and is questioning her right now.”

“Shit,” Jax said. The whole Club had been afraid of this. 

****************************

Maggie looked across the table at Stahl. The woman had “strongly suggested” that she close up the shop and come down to the police station. 

“Magnolia Leighton,” Stahl read from a file in front of her. “Interesting tidbits here,” she said with a smile that bordered on sadistic. 

Maggie said nothing, a single eyebrow raised. 

“Looks like they had insufficient evidence to charge anyone with your parents’ murder. Such a shame.”

Maggie’s eyes darkened. It had been six years. “I’m not quite sure how this is relevant,” she said, an edge creeping into her tone. “Though I’m sure my lawyer would be absolutely fascinated by this,” Maggie said, pulling a business card out of her pocket. “I’m not saying anything else.”

Stahl glared. “Well, we’ll just have to hold you until Miss Vandenbrook can arrive from Chicago then.”

Maggie gave her a “oh this should be fun” look and allowed herself to be led out of the interrogation room and into a holding cell, where she saw a few other familiar faces.

“The bitch get you too?” Gemma asked from the cell next to her.

“I think I pissed her off a bit,” Maggie replied. “She didn’t like that I wasn’t gonna talk without my lawyer. Hence why I’m enjoying this hospitality until Thea can get a red-eye from Chicago.”

Gemma laughed. “I’m sure the boys are working on some plan to get us out or something,” the matriarch said with a grin.

“I don’t doubt it,” Maggie agreed, trying to make herself comfortable on the bench in her cell. 

****************************

Thea Vandenbrook walked into the Charming Police Department like she owned the place. She and Maggie had been friends for years, having ran in the same circles in college. Somehow, Thea didn’t look as though she had been awake for the past 36 hours. 

“Can I help you?” one of the officers asked, looking at the well-dressed young woman with interest. 

“Yes, I’m Magnolia Leighton’s legal representation. I would like to speak to my client, please.”

“Of course,” the officer, whose name tag identified her as Officer Eglee, said, leading Thea back to one of the interview rooms. “I’ll go get Maggie for you.”

Thea tried to hide her surprise when Maggie came into the room with a pretty impressive bruise on her face.

“What the fuck happened?” Thea exclaimed, abandoning her lawyer persona and replacing it with ‘concerned friend’. 

“Sons staged a bit of a jailbreak last night for the other women that Stahl has been harassing. I had plausible deniability if I was knocked unconscious at the time.” Maggie gave her friend a devious half-smile. 

Thea shook her head. “So fill me in, how exactly did you get mixed in to this?”

Maggie spent the next several minutes filling Thea in about everything that had happened since she moved to Charming. 

“So is there something between you and this Chibs guy? Cause your face was definitely doing the thing when you were talking about him.”

“It was not!” Maggie said indignantly, knowing that her face was in fact doing the thing. “It’s complicated.” 

The conversation was cut short by Stahl’s arrival. Thea did her lawyer thing, which included some thinly veiled threats, and Maggie was promptly released. 

“You are the best, Thee,” Maggie said as they left the building and headed toward Thea’s rental car. 

“I know,” the lawyer replied with a grin. “You owe me a drink.”

“Done.”


	5. Part 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maggie is out of Stahl's clutches, but things are never simple, especially when you're involved with the Sons.

“You ready?” Maggie asked as Thea came out of the guest room, having changed out of her lawyer clothes and into a pair of dark skinny jeans and a tank top. 

“Yup,” the other woman replied. “So where are we going?”

Maggie smirked. “I owe you a drink, remember? We’re headed to Club Reaper.”

Thea gave her a look, but just shook her head and smiled. “As your lawyer, I don’t approve. But as a nosy best friend, I need to meet this guy of yours.”

Maggie’s face flushed. “He’s...he’s not mine.”

“Bullshit. Now c’mon.”

The two women hopped in Maggie’s car and made their way to T-M. Fortunately, it seemed like it was a fairly quiet night. 

Maggie walked in, Thea following behind her. 

“Mags!” Juice exclaimed when he saw her, pulling her into a hug. “We were worried. Nice to see you managed to get out.”

She returned the hug and chuckled. “Of course I did. Juice, this is my friend Thea. Thea, Juice.”

Juice looked at the brunette woman and gave her a smile. “You’re the lawyer friend out of Chicago?” Thea nodded. “Glad you made it.”

Thea smiled. “Gave me an excuse to get out of the city for a while.”

“How long are you staying, by the way?” Maggie asked, having forgotten to get that tiny detail from her friend. 

“I fly back to Chicago tomorrow night,” she replied. 

“Well then, we should give you a proper welcome,” Juice said, leading the two women over to the bar. A Prospect was behind the bar, fetching beers and mixing drinks. “What’s your poison?” Juice asked, looking at Thea. 

“Jack and Coke?” she asked, looking toward the Prospect. 

“Yes ma’am,” he replied. “What can I get you, Maggie?” 

“Captain and Coke for me,” she replied, glancing around the room, unconsciously looking for a certain scarred Scotsman. The Prospect handed her the drink and she nodded her thanks before turning around and leaning against the bar. 

“So which one is he?” Thea asked. They had moved down the bar a bit, getting the Prospect out of earshot. 

She looked around, seeing the Scot coming out of the Chapel, accompanied by Jax and Clay. “There he is.”

“The cute blonde? Damn girl, you’ve upped your game,” Thea teased. 

“Not him,” she replied quickly. “The one on the left, with the scars.”

“Hmm,” Thea mused quickly. Any further remarks were abandoned as the subject of their conversation swooped in and pulled Maggie into a tight hug. 

“We were worried about ye, lass,” Chibs said, releasing her slightly to press a kiss to her forehead. Maggie couldn’t help the blush that suddenly turned her entire face scarlet. “And who is this?” he asked, noticing Thea. 

“This is Thea Vandenbrook,” Maggie said. “My best friend since forever and the best lawyer I know.”

“Pleased to meet ye,” the Scot said, shaking the other woman’s hand. “Thanks for keeping our girl out of trouble.” Maggie’s face went red again, but if anyone noticed they didn’t say anything. 

____________________________________________________________________________

It had been a couple days since Thea left and Maggie was back to hanging out at the clubhouse in her free time. It was the middle of the afternoon and she was sitting at the bar when an explosion suddenly shook the clubhouse. 

Maggie rushed outside, seeing the flaming minivan and Chibs on the ground, bleeding from a head wound. 

“No. No no no no no,” she repeated, rushing to his side. “C’mon Chibs talk to me. Please!”

She didn’t know how much time had passed before Tig was helping her stand and pulling her away.

“C’mon baby,” the older man said. “They’ve got him.”

She nodded mutely, letting Tig put an arm around her as they watched the paramedics load Chibs into the ambulance. 

“Grab your stuff and we’ll head to the hospital,” Gemma said, coming up beside the two of them. 

Maggie’s head was spinning as she grabbed her bag from inside the clubhouse. Her thoughts were jumbled, each one struggling to be heard over the thousands of others swirling around in her brain. 

The wait at the hospital was torturous. Maggie couldn’t stop fidgeting, her concern for Chibs turning her anxiety up to 11. Finally Tara came out with news. They had him patched up and in a room, but he hadn’t woken up yet. 

“Technically only family is allowed in, but I’ll pull some strings,” Tara offered. It seemed like her affection for Chibs was the worst kept secret ever. Regardless, she was incredibly grateful that they had the doctor on their side. 

Maggie stayed by his side of a few days, bound and determined that he would not be alone when he woke up. _If he wakes up,_ a traitorous voice whispered in her head. She clenched her fists. He would wake up, she was sure of it. 

“Still here?” Gemma asked, walking into the room.

Maggie nodded, stifling a yawn. Keeping vigil at Chibs’ bedside hadn’t been exactly conducive to a good night’s sleep. 

“Stay here, I’ll go get us some coffee,” the matriarch said, heading out of the hospital room. 

A few minutes passed before the silence of the room was broken. 

“And who are ye?” an Irish-accented voice asked from the doorway. “His little whore?”

The hairs on the back of Maggie’s neck stood up. “I’m a friend,” she replied, standing and moving away from Chibs so the imminent confrontation wouldn’t disturb him.

“Well you can go now, _friend_ ,” the woman sneered.

Maggie bit the inside of her cheek to keep from snarling at the strange woman. “And who are you?” Her usual politeness was gone, she was determined not to waste the energy on this person. 

“I’m his wife.” Those three words made Maggie freeze. Chibs was married? She could see a self-satisfied smirk coming across the woman’s features. “What? He didn’t tell you he was married?”

If Maggie had been a lesser person, she would have slapped that smirk right off the other woman’s face. 

Gemma watched as Maggie rushed out of Chibs’ hospital room, She had no idea what would send the younger woman running-- until she walked into the room and saw Fiona Larkin, one of the only three women on this planet that scared Gemma Teller-Morrow. 

Gemma found Maggie sitting in the hospital chapel, staring blankly ahead.

“You want a ride baby?” the matriarch asked kindly, knowing that coming face to face with the Irish Bitch had definitely thrown the young woman for a loop. 

Maggie nodded. “To the Note, please?”

Gemma nodded and they headed out to her car, the older woman keeping a protective arm over the younger woman’s shoulders. 

“You want company?” Gemma asked as she pulled up in front of the bakery.

Maggie shook her head. “I’ll be fine, Gem. Thanks, though.”

“Call if you need anything.” The older woman instructed. 

“Yes ma’am,” Maggie replied, forcing a small smile onto her face. 

Maggie took a deep breath to steady herself as she unlocked the door and walked into the shop. Her gaze zeroed in on a white envelope sitting on the counter. She quickly ripped it open and immediately wished she hadn’t.

_Ms. Leighton_ it read.   
_This letter is to inform you that your probationary lease is being terminated effective seven (7) days from the receipt of this notice._

She dropped the paper on the counter, not able to muster the will to read the rest of it. It seemed as though the universe was determined to sucker punch her and kick her while she was down. This entire day was just one massive clusterfuck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *ducks any flying projectiles*  
> I'm so sorry this update took so long! Life is a pain and this chapter was giving me hell!  
> HUGE thank you to everyone who is leaving reviews! They are awesome motivation to keep me writing!


	6. Part 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Sons find out about The Bold Note

Maggie took a deep breath before grabbing the bakery boxes and heading into the Sons clubhouse. She hadn’t told the men about the Note closing, so at this point she was delivering their morning baked goods purely to keep up appearances. 

Chibs was still in the hospital, but Maggie hadn’t been back to see him since her confrontation with the wife. Though she had fantasized about going back and confronting the woman, she resisted the temptation. She and Chibs weren’t actually a thing, so confronting his wife wouldn’t actually do anything. She was focusing on keeping her feelings in check, trying to tamp down the affection she felt for the man. Any potential involvement between them was pretty much smushed. Maggie was not going to be the ‘other woman’. She had more self-respect than that. 

To be honest, Maggie wasn’t really speaking to any of the Sons. She’d come by the shop early, usually before the guys arrived, drop off the food, and then go back to her house. The forced closing of the Bold Note had effectively killed Maggie’s motivation to do anything except curl up on her couch and watch Netflix. 

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Tig walked into the clubhouse, seeing the distinctive bakery boxes sitting on the bar. It had been several days since any of the men had seen Maggie, and he was starting to get concerned. He pulled out his phone and sent Maggie a text: _Everything okay babygirl? We’ve missed you the last couple days._ He waited several minutes, getting no response from the young woman. 

“Juice!” he called.

“Yo!”

“You talked to Maggie lately?”

Juice shook his head. “Been sending her texts and haven’t been getting responses. I assumed everything was okay since she keeps bringing everyone’s usuals.”

Tig thought for a moment. “C’mon, we’re gonna drop by the shop and make sure she’s okay.”

Juice nodded in agreement and both men walked quickly out to their bikes and peeled out of the T-M parking lot. 

They pulled up in front of The Bold Note, both sets of eyes widening at the obnoxious FOR LEASE sign that was in the front window.

“Did she say anything…”

Tig shook his head. “Let’s go. There’s only a couple other places she could be.”

Tig led the way to Maggie’s house, pulling out the key she had given him “just in case”. He unlocked the door and the two Sons entered the house. 

“Mags? Are you here?” Tig called out. No response. They could hear the TV on in the living room and headed there, seeing a Maggie-shaped mass of blankets burritoed on the couch. 

Juice knelt down near her head. “Mags? You okay?” Her eyes were open, staring blankly at the TV screen that Juice’s head was now blocking. 

Maggie blinked a few times, clearing her vision and seeing Juice right by her head. “Juice? What are you doing here?” 

“We were worried, doll,” Tig chimed in, coming into Maggie’s field of vision. “When were you going to tell us you were closing the Note? I thought business was good.”

“I wasn’t going to tell you. It’s not a club problem.”

“You’re family, Mags,” Juice chided gently. “Your problems are club problems. What happened?”

Maggie sat up, still keeping one of her blankets wrapped around her shoulders. “Hale left a letter letting me know that he was terminating my lease. Didn’t have much of a choice.”

“When did this happen?” Tig asked.

“About a week and a half ago.” She was purposely leaving out the other terrible, horrible, no good, very bad thing that had also happened that day. It had almost seemed as though she and Chibs had been getting somewhere, but that idea was now thoroughly dashed. 

“You should have told us,” Tig said, taking a seat on her couch and putting an arm around her. The comfortable moment was interrupted by the ringing of Tig’s burner. 

“Yeah?” he said, answering. “Really? Sweet. We’ll be there asap.” He flipped the phone shut. 

“What is it?” Juice asked.

“They’re discharging Chibs right now. We’re supposed to get back to the clubhouse. I’m sure we’ll be throwing a party tonight.”

 _Oh, great_ Maggie thought. _So much for avoiding him._ A SAMCRO party meant that she was going to be behind the bar. Which, considering her primary source of income had disappeared into the nether, was kind of necessary if she wanted to be able to pay her bills.  
“I’ll be there as soon as I can shower and make myself presentable,” Maggie said, forcing a smile on her face. The two men nodded, Tig pressing a fatherly kiss to her forehead before they headed towards her front door. 

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
Chibs was trying to enjoy his welcome home party, but his eyes kept being drawn towards a certain brunette bartender. He couldn’t quite put a finger on it, but something seemed off. Maybe it was that her usually bright smiles seemed a little _too_ bright and a little _too_ forced, or that she seemed to deflate just a tiny bit as soon as she thought no one was watching. 

The next time he glanced over at the bar, Maggie was gone, one of the Prospects having taken her place behind the bar. 

“I’m gonna go for a smoke,” he muttered, getting up off the couch that had become slightly infested by crow eaters. 

He was surprised that MAggie wasn’t perched on top of the picnic table, her usual spot when she needed a break from the chaotic clubhouse. He glanced around a bit before taking a seat on the bench and lighting his cigarette. 

Up on the roof, Maggie released a breath. She had known tonight was going to be challenging, but she had grossly miscalculated how challenging it would be. It was hard enough being in the same room as Chibs, but seeing all of the crow eaters all over him made things even more difficult. Maggie shook herself off, ran her fingers through her hair, and climbed down the ladder. She could do this. She had to do this. 

“So are ye gon’ tell us what’s wrong or do we have ‘te guess?”

Maggie nearly jumped out of her skin when Chibs’ voice called from the darkness. 

“Jesus fuck!” she exclaimed, her hand over her heart which was about to pound out of her chest. “You scared me!”

“Sorry, lass,” the man said, coming out from under the awning and into the light. “Question remains the same.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Maggie replied flatly. 

“Horse shite. Something’s going on in that head of yours.” His face softened a bit. “Something’s changed.” He wasn’t going to admit it, but he had felt a small pang of disappointment when Maggie hadn’t come to visit him in the hospital. 

Part of Maggie wanted to scream and lash out at the man-- for leading her on, making her actually care about him, the list had gotten quite impressive the longer she had a chance to stew--but she didn’t. This was his welcome home party and she wasn’t about to cause a scene. 

“Everything’s fine,” she lied, doing her best to sound convincing. “I’d better get back inside.”

He watched her go, knowing that something had definitely changed. Maggie hadn’t ever lied to him before.  
XXXXXXXXXXXX  
“Hale forced Maggie to close The Bold Note,” Tig said the next day after the Sons had assembled and Church had been called to order.

“When?” Bobby asked. Their baked goods had kept arriving every morning, so no one had really thought anything was amiss. 

“She closed almost a week ago,” Tig replied. “She didn’t want us to know.”

“Why would she keep that from us? She’s family, and the Club takes care of family.”

All of the men nodded, but Chibs was deep in thought. Nearly getting blown up really had a way of making a man reevaluate his life choices. Coupled with his conversation with Maggie from the previous night, for this particular Scotsman, that meant that he needed to talk to Maggie. There were some things that needed cleared up. 

After Church was adjourned, all the men flooded into the clubhouse. Noticing Maggie’s absence, Chibs headed towards his bike.

“Going somewhere?” Gemma asked, seeing the Scot heading towards the door.

“Aye,” he replied. “Got some things I need to clear up.”

“Those things involve Maggie?” Chibs looked at Gemma in shock.

“Wasn’t aware ye developed mind reading, mother.”

Gemma chuckled. “Just be careful. That girl didn’t leave your side for _days_.”

Chibs stopped in his tracks. “She was there?”

“Of course she was, she was worried sick--until… _oh shit_.”

“What?”

“She had a bit of a run in with Fiona.”

“Fuck,” Chibs cursed. Of course he hadn’t told Maggie about Fi and Kerrianne. “Well, looks like I have a fair bit of explaining to do.”  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
Maggie had no left her bed all day, and had no intention of doing so. She had cocooned herself in a pile of blankets and was perfectly content to stay there. At least until her phone rang.

“Mmmhmm?” she answered, not even bothering to try and sound awake.

“Hey baby,” Gemma said through the phone. “Just wanted to give you a head’s up, the club knows about what happened with the shop.”

“Great,” Maggie groaned. 

“And Chibs is on his way to your place.”

As if summoned, Maggie could hear the sound of a Harley coming down her usually quiet street. 

“Well fuck. Thanks for the warning Gem.” Maggie threw off the blankets and grabbed one of her old college hoodies, pulling it on over her ratty sleep shirt and leggings. She had just enough time to toss her sleep-tangled hair into a messy bun before there were several insistent raps on her front door.

She took a deep breath, held it for several seconds, and slowly released it before opening her front door, revealing a certain scarred Scot. 

“Mags, I need tae talk to ye.”

“C’mon in,” she said, a touch of resignation in her voice. “I’ll make tea.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Please feel free to leave comments about what you liked, what you hated, or what you would like to see in the future!


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